Astanga

I slept in a bit this morning. This means I slept until 6:30 a.m. Kinda sad that it felt stupidly decadent to get up before 7 a.m., but that's my life and I'm not complaining! The early schedule is still working great for me. I'm getting used to being a bit sleep deprived. I tend to catch up on weekends.

I did my Primary this morning with D's DVD. I don't think I've used this DVD since *before* I went to Montreal, so it was a bit surreal. Prior to Montreal, he was just The Dude on the DVD. Now he's one of my teachers, at least in a 'long-distance-once-in-awhile' sort of way (I'm still getting my head wrapped around this, to be honest).

The DVD moves along at a slower pace than I'm used to, but felt good to slow down and bring more mindfulness into my practice. It was also a nice change for a Friday. I was able to focus on my breath and bandhas more. There are constant cues and reminders to breath evenly and engage the bandhas. It's one of the things I've always liked about this led DVD.

With the more leisurely pace, I had time to work my vinyasas and lift-ups, emphasizing strength. I took the time to come into postures more carefully, especially in the Marichyasanas.

D skips a pose in this DVD (Paravritta Parsvakonasana) and adds in others (Baddha Konasana C, Tadaga Mudra). It was fun to change things up a bit from my regular routine.

I noticed that a few of the cues are different from the ones I've heard D use in the workshops and in his Mysore room. None were contradictory, the emphasis was just different in spots. Hearing the instruction in the DVD helped reinforce some of the things I learned at the workshop. Since I'm now integrating these concepts into my teaching, it was helpful to hear how D offered them in the context of a led class.

I had a good practice. My knees is still fine *sighofrelief*. Sirsasana felt better today, backbends felt worse. Oh well!

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I really enjoyed seeing the responses to my 'Lady's Holiday Survey'. The responses are still trickling in, but yesterday I hit 50 responders, so I figured I would do a tally.

Frankly, I was astounded by how many of my readers are Ashtangis. I know, I know, I shouldn't be! I guess I just thought I had a wider readership here, but I'm pretty 'niche'.

So here's the numbers:

1. Do you practise yoga asana during your monthly 'holiday'?


It appears that most of you practice during your Lady's Holiday. One person commented: "I practice if I feel good, don't practice if I feel bad. Simple logic!" That sentiment summed it up for most respondents.

2. What asana style do you practice during your 'holiday'?

In addition to the styles mention above, one person indicated that they practice Anusara.

The first day of the cycle is rough for many and it's the common 'skip day'. This was a theme in the comments. Some of you practice Yin Yoga or a gentle restorative sequence on that first day (or the heaviest days).

A few people commented that 'daily yoga' is important, even if it's not Astanga. I was very surprised by how many people keep on with their Astanga practice even during the Lady's Holiday.

There seems to be a strong culture of daily practice amongst Ashtangis which transcends physical discomfort and traditional views.

Put simply, I think many of us get in a routine and we're loathe to change it up, lest we lose momentum. Also, going back to a daily Astanga practice even after only a few days off can be stiff and unwieldy. Many try to avoid that by carrying on.


3. Do you practice inversions at this time of month?


Again, many people take the first day off, but continue 'the practice as usual' on subsequent days.


In the comments, most indicated that they do Sirsasana and Sarvangasana, but hold for shorter durations (10 breaths).

One person noted that Urdhva Dhanurasana feels good for her back during Lady's Holiday (I concur - backbends are one thing I don't skimp on during my 'holiday').

To be honest, this statistic was the one that amazed me the most. Most yoga texts and YTTs drill it in: no inversions during the menstrual cycle. Dire consequences are predicted for those how break this rule. But obviously, many of you are doing inversions with no ill effect.

4. If you abstain from asana practice, what influenced your decision?


This question was for those people who abstain from practice during the 'holiday'.

To be honest, I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek when I added the option about Nancy G. So I was genuinely tickled when I noticed that " 'Cause Nancy Gilgoff said so" came in a close third after "Advice from my Teachers" and the big winner: "Physical discomfort."

'Feeling like shit' seemed to be a good reason for most of you to skip practice. It's kinda hard to do the Suryas when you're doubled over in pain.

Four of you indicated that you *do* sometimes get The Lazy. One person even admitted:"Sometimes I use it as an excuse..." (Yeah, I do that too!)

There were a couple of interesting comments regarding the importance of the Bandhas:

"It's impossible to engage bandhas and so I don't feel like I'm practising ashtanga or at least not practising in a safe and healthy way."

"If I happen to be suffering from cramps, I don't practice intermediate because I need my bandhas to be intact to keep me from hurting myself. Plus, it feels like shit."


5. If you choose to practice during your 'holiday', what factors influenced your decision?

This question was for those of you who *do* choose to practice. I was curious about your reasons (health related, practical or more philosophical).

Most of you are practical. Practice feels fine, so why not do practice? Several of you, like me, go a batshitcrazy without some kind of practice or you find that practice actually alleviates the discomfort of your menstrual cycle.

Only 3 of you practice during your Lady's specifically on the advice of your teachers.

And 16 of you are resisting the Patriarchy *fistpump*

Many thanks to all of you who participated in the survey. That was so much fun, I may do another one someday.

Be sure to read the comments from the survey post for additional views on the topic.

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Finally, a photo for Princess Fur Friday. This is one of my favourites. Sleeping schnauzer, furry paw!

Astanga

I survived another six-day week! This week was the 'early morning edition' with most of my practices starting around 6:30 a.m.

Yesterday was the earliest: I was on the mat before and finished before 7. This morning was the latest: On the mat at the decadent hour of 10 because I slept in.

I love the early practices. Even though this new routine has decimated my meditation practice (I still haven't found a way to work mediation back in, it's now very sporadic...), I'm finding that my asana practice is so much easier in the early morning. This morning, I felt sluggish and weird practising late. I'm definitely a morning girl!

I had big ambitions to a do a Primary with full vinyasa this morning, but when I woke, I realised that I could: a) lounge around in bed and drink tea, then do an easy led Primary, or b) kick my own ass for two hours like I've been doing all week then race off to teach a class afterward.

And...

I opted for sloth! Sloth is awesome! (sometimes). So: led primary (with Sharath's CD) with a long rest afterward. Wow, Sirsasana feels *short* when I'm not holding it for 3 minutes!




Princess Fur is looking forward to a lazy weekend of long walks and maybe, just maybe, someone will be around to play with her. Prettyplease?!!

Me? I just want to sit around and eat vegan cookies. And NAP!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Astanga

Ahhhh! *deepsighofrelief*

It was SO nice to get back on the mat this morning. Even as my body was resisting the effort, I was basking in it. All it takes is a few days of NOT practising and I’m far more appreciative of the quality that daily practice brings to my life. The after-effects of my practice coloured my entire day. I floated around, full of happy!

I had a great practice with a few fun surprises. Usually in a led, I don’t get around to binding to wrist in Marichyasana D, I just grab fingers (there’s just not enough time to wiggle into it). Somehow, I managed to find the wrist bind today, even though I came into the pose very casually. I still remember when this started happening in Marichyasana C - it’s a very good sign that the pose is deepening!

Supta Kurmasana was an easy bind as well and I think I know why. I’ve been doing loads of shoulder openers lately, particularly with the awesome Erich Schiffman shoulder sequence. Over the summer, I bought a digital download of a basic sequence that included shoulders and it was worth every penny! I’m thinking of getting his backbending video as well.

Since I was doing Primary today, I spent the rest of the day reminding myself that it’s NOT Friday! Even now, I’m still in ‘Friday Mode.’ I’ll have a rude awakening tomorrow when I step on the mat for my full practice and it feels like a Saturday!

Good thing this is a holiday weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving) and I have the day off on Monday! (and I *really* have the day off, no classes!).

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I was thinking ahead last week and took the State-of-the-Backbend photo on Tuesday.

Not bad, though it felt a lot deeper than it looks. I was having an exceptionally good backbending day. Everything felt really open.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Astanga

I did a led Primary this morning and for the sake of variety, I popped my old favourite, ‘Power Yoga’, into the DVD. It’s the DVD I started with, the one by Beryl Bender Birch and I haven’t practised with it since the spring. My practice has taken leaps and bounds in the past six months, so I thought it might be fun for comparison purposes.

Wow.

I wasn’t even doing Chakrasana the last time I practised with this DVD and I wasn’t doing Setu Bandhasana either (because Beryl mentions very specifically that you’re supposed to ‘learn the pose from a qualified teacher’). I waited until I was practising at the Shala to learn both Setu and Chakrasana.

I had a great practice and savoured all of the moments when I was nailing a pose that I used to struggle mightily with. It was a good confidence boost and a reminder that ‘all is coming’, even if something feels impossible in the moment (Like, at the moment, all of Intermediate!)

I can clearly remember my struggles with Marichyasana C when I used this DVD regularly. And it’s an easy pose for me now! And it was fun to do Garba Pindasana, while remembering how completely *impossible* it felt to me even a year ago.’’

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Quite a few of my friends and readers are working on Garba Pindasana right now and having a tough time of it. Bruises! I remember the bruises!

I recently posted some tips on the ‘Practice and All is Coming’ Blog by Amaranthinestudent and she found them very helpful. I thought I would repeat those tips here, along with some additional ones.

Tips for coming into Garba Pindasana:
- LOTS of water on the arms! Focus particularly on the area around the elbow and the wrist. On the legs, the top of the calves and the inner knees.
- Come into Lotus and insert the right arm, first lifting the left foot up out of the way to make a bigger ‘hole’ in the legs. Once your arm is through, pull your right hand toward you (even bracing it against the left hand for leverage) to get the arm further through.
- Push the left arm through the left leg. To get it further through, again try pulling the hand toward you (like you were ‘flexing’ your bicep).
- Curl your body toward your hands, round the back! This will help you get your hands over your ears.

Tips for rolling:
-Establish a smooth, steady breath *before* you start to roll.
-Move with your breath, long inhale up, long exhale backward. Try to ‘pause’ at the top of the inhalation.
-Use your Bandhas to power the rolls.
-Round your back and look toward your belly button (the ‘official’ Driste is the nose, but this really helps until you get the hang of it; tuck your chin!)

Finally, here is a small, rather embarrassing video clip that shows me doing this crazy pose. I’m hoping that it will be helpful to those of you struggling with the pose. Sometimes, it helps to ‘see’ how someone else goes about it.



I wasn’t aware I had such a ‘chicken neck’. Ug! *eyeroll*

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For all of a nanosecond, I was part of Owl’s groovy bookclub discussion on Trungpa’s book, ‘Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism’.

I wanted to continue, I truly did, but Princess Fur is a sloooooow reader and I haven’t been able to get the book out of her furry paws long enough to finish it (the dog didn’t ‘eat my homework’, she’s reading it!)

Here’s Fur, taking a break from her ‘beach reading.’

Astanga

I was struck with ‘Full Moon Insomnia’ around 2:30 a.m. last night. Rather than stare at the ceiling and suffer, I turned on the light and read for awhile (I’m finally reading Mohan’s biography of Krishnamacharya and it’s *amazing*).

When it became clear that I wasn’t falling asleep anytime soon, I gave up on sleep and got up. I did all of the cleaning, walked the dog, took out the trash/recycling, and did the laundry. I finished all of this up by around 5:30 a.m. Then I did my practice (and went grocery shopping after - my entire day was complete by 8:30!)

I had a great practice. I did a led Primary with Sharath’s CD and didn’t add any extras (though I did rest for a long time after). The apartment was so warm I didn’t need to turn on the heater (we’re having an autumn heat wave today). I was sweating buckets! I didn’t feel sleep-deprived at all. I felt strong and energetic throughout my practice and I wasn’t particularly tired afterwards either.

I’m still wired. I tried to take a nap this afternoon and couldn’t fall asleep. I’ve been getting a huge amount of work done though, so I’m just rolling with it.

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I think I’ve taken about a thousand photographs of Princess Fur sleeping. I know my sleeping dog is probably “sooooo cute” mostly to me, but I thought it was adorable the way she had her legs stretched out here. She was just waking up (trying to ignore my all-night antics).

Astanga

This morning, I slept in...until 7 a.m. *politeapplause* Yeah, I know. Decadent of me!

I meditated for five minutes, then did a led Primary Series with Sharath’s CD. I love how the count in this recording feels ‘too slow’ and ‘too fast’ depending on what pose I’m in

Marichyasana D: Too fast.

Uth Pluthi: Too slow.

And (this is a first)...

Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana: Just right.

I can’t seem to balance Utthita Hasta if I’m in a Shala, but I have no trouble doing it at home. Weird.

And Sirsasana? I could have easily held it for another 15 counts! Apparently, all of the looooong holds I’ve been doing this week are having the desired effect: I’m getting stronger. Yay. Now I need to apply the same discipline to Uth Pluthi!

In celebration of my second six-day week of Intermediate Series practice, I took myself out for a sushi lunch this afternoon, then wandered around the neighbourhood shops.

I’ve been looking around for a good stainless steel travel mug because I’m trying to banish plastic from my life. You would think this would be an easy find, but I’ve had no luck so far. I’m looking around online too. I’m very picky! I want something durable. It can’t leak. Bonus points if it’s orange.

I also stopped at the India store to see if they had a small brass Patanjali. No luck. She hasn’t had one in for months. Oh well. The posse will have to do without him.

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Princess Fur Friday

Ever since Princess Fur had her front teeth extracted, she’s had a bit of a ‘tongue problem’. Apparently, those teeth were keeping her tongue contained!

Now, it sticks out.

I think it’s kind of cute!

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I created a page for this blog on Facebook (you'll see the link in the left-hand sidebar).

For the first few hours it was up, I had NO friends. It felt just like high school. In fact, I was feeling too insecure to even 'like' myself! (and that's *exactly* like high school).

But then a friend in Montreal saved me from the horrors of unpopularity by being the first to 'like' my page. So I decided to 'like' myself too and now a bunch of other people like me. Well, okay, just three...but still!!!

It's starting to feel more like university! Maybe I'm not such a loser after all! Maybe I'll get invited to a party! ;-)

I'm not sure what I'm actually going to *do* with this page, but for now, it's just nifty and fun.

It feels so serious and official (I love how the box says "Find us" as if I had a split personality or was running a political campaign).

Don't worry, I'm not going to run for mayor or anything. I promise!

Astanga

I practised today. With the Moon Day and my Lady’s, I had enjoyed quite enough time off, thankyouverymuch. I really missed doing a led Primary yesterday so I did it today instead, with Sharath’s CD.

It was great! Fun and fast and easy-peasy. I love how ‘just the Primary Series’ has suddenly become comfortable and simple (in contrast to ‘the Primary Series and all those backbends, and some more backbends and dropping back and trying to stand up from those backbends’. By the time I get through it all, I’m usually too tired to properly enjoy the finishing poses.

Doing a led Primary after a week of long practices is sort of like running a 5K after you’ve been training for a Marathon.

But I can still remember (clearly!) when the Primary Series seemed very long, tedious and difficult. Now it’s just fun! It gives me hope...

I’m looking forward to a time when I can feel that way about *backbending*.

It’s been four days since I’ve done any serious work on my backbends. That’s quite the vacation! Tomorrow will be interesting. Back to my Marathon practice and trying, trying, trying to stand up. I’m glad it’s on a Sunday so I have lots of time to work. And maybe take a nap afterward!

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I shot the State-of-the-Backbend photo on Tuesday. I think this was the fourth take. It took me that long to figure out that I could walk my hands in a wee bit further and still straighten my legs a bit more and still press down through my heels to bring the weight into my feet.

I got a bit carried away, in other words.

Didn’t make a lick of difference though.

This is the *exact* same backbend as last week (I did a side by side comparison).

Drat. Looks like I’m stuck in a holding pattern. *boredomwhistle*

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Astanga

Hooray! I’ve made it to the end of the six-day week! It’s my very first practising Intermediate Series and doing the dreaded Long Practice.

Friday is Led Primary day. I haven’t always followed this tradition, but now that my regular practice is longer, I’m all ‘HOORAY! LED PRIMARY! MY FAVOURITE!’ :-D

In that spirit, I decided to forgo practising my led at home (with Sharath’s CD) and do some Yoga Tourism instead. I visited Shala East.

Yes, there’s a Shala East. It’s the close cousin of Shala South, but reportedly a tad more on the traditional side. The teacher, DG, has been authorized by Sharath - something I wasn’t aware of until this week.

I’ve long been curious about this Shala and since DG leads a Primary Series every Friday, I figured it would be a good opportunity to try out the room. With a slightly less traditional focus, I thought it might be an option for me if I decided that I needed a teacher’s eyes on my Intermediate poses.

Back in high school, a favourite teacher of mine used to say: “It’s not bad, it’s different.” I think that definitely applies here.

It was different.

The commute was a bit long - almost an hour, most of it on ground transportation. This isn’t a total deal-breaker: I’m starting to realise that I’m willing to travel for a good teacher in a traditional room.

It’s a beautiful space. It’s on the second floor, with changerooms and a shared washroom, but no showers. The Mysore room has pretty wooden floors and a big picture window to the sky. There are lots of props and people use them.

Yup! Just like Shala South, this studio is a bit on the non-traditional side.

The style was very, very different than I’m used to. Though the class was led, it wasn’t led in Sanskrit counts (a least, not entirely) and there was no opening chant (but we did do the closing chant). There was more variation in the room than I’m used to seeing, in terms of alignment and the way students approached the postures. I saw very few adjustments, though I’m certain that there would be more during an actual Mysore class. Music was playing as we ‘took rest.’

And there was air conditioning! It came on about an hour into the practice after I had already worked up a good sweat. The room was initially warm, but not terribly warm when we started but I was *freezing* by finishing. I must have been in the drafty spot because I could actually feel the ‘breeze.’

To be honest, I felt a bit out-of-place in this room. I might go back for a Mysore class just to get more of a feel for the teacher, but my initial impression is that it’s a poor fit for me. Apparently, I’ve been become very traditional in my approach to Astanga! I’m more comfortable in a traditional room (in light of that, it’s a shame I didn’t develop more of a rapport with the Shala Central teachers; in that respect, their teaching is superb).

This is all pretty ironic, given the dialogue unfolding in the comments section yesterday and the direction of my practice in recent weeks. I may be ‘traditional’ but my practice is colouring me outside the lines right now. It’s given me some food for thought, but I have no regrets. I have a strong sense that everything is unfolding as it should.

I think the Universe is telling me to stop being such a whiny baby and just do my practice, so that’s what I’m going to do. And I’ll do it at home for now.

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While I was finishing up some work for a freelance web client this afternoon, I cleaned up this website and ‘moved the furniture around’. The site has a new look! For those of you who read via the RSS feed, you may want to pop over and have a look around.

You’ll now find tabs at the top of the site leading to my Links Pages, the famous Vegan Muffin recipe and my About Page. I’ve also added a gallery of photographs for my State-of-the-Backbend dating back to 2008. It includes a ‘slideshow’ which is pretty funky and makes it look like backbends can deepen over the course of a few minutes (always a good diversion if you’re feeling discouraged!).

I’ve also added a ‘Best of...’ Page with links to some of my favourite all-time posts, as well as a few that receive frequent visits from readers. If you have a favourite that I haven’t listed, get in touch. I’d love to add it to the list!

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This week’s Princess Fur photo:

Waiting at the Bed & Breakfast for ‘Grandma’ to make an appearance.

I didn’t manage to give my mother any grandchildren, but she did get a cute schnauzer out of the deal!

Astanga

My teachers are away this weekend, leaving the Shala in care of the assistant. I was planning to play hooky and practise at home anyway, but the lingering effects of the food poisoning gave me a valid excuse: I was in no condition to get on the mat at 9 a.m.

Instead, I slept in a bit and tried to drink some tea. I stayed in bed resting until noon and managed to eat a protein bar for lunch. My entire body was feeling puffy and tender. The pain was intense last night and I slept fitfully.

When I don’t practise in the morning, I kind of forget that I need to. Practising later in the day is not part of my routine.When noon rolled around, I was surprised when I realised I hadn’t yet done yoga.

So I rallied and stepped on the mat at 1:30 to do led Primary with Sharath’s CD. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really surprised myself! Not a bad practice! The standing poses felt impossible, but once I moved on to the seated, I fell into a groove.

It’s been a long time since I practised with this CD. In fact, it’s been five months (I checked). It didn’t feel as difficult as I remembered but it does move FAST! At times, it felt a bit *too* fast, like I was only getting two or three breaths in before it was time to move again. That was weird, but it makes sense, given that my full Primary lasts at least 90 minutes these days (the CD runs about 75 minutes).

It was really fun to do the Chakrasanas in all of the appropriate spots - I’ve never done that before with this CD. Those transitions really do help the flow! I’m getting so much better at Chakrasana and I feel comfortable with it. I need to start working on moving all the way through when I bring my legs back. I’ve fallen into a bad habit of pausing before rolling. But I’m closer to rolling to my toes (rather than my knees). The transition no longer bothers my neck.

As I listened to the CD, bits and pieces of verbal instruction were suddenly clear that had never made sense to me before. For example, the ‘bring the heels close’ direction in Karna Pidasana. Before going to the Shala, I kept my feet apart so it never really registered. There were all kinds of small things like that. It’s all stuff that I wouldn’t have known if my teachers hadn’t corrected me. It highlights how much my practice has changed over the past few months. I’m grateful for all of the help I’ve received at the Shala and in workshops I’ve taken over the summer.

My practice moved quickly after Garba Pindasana and it was fun! By the time I hit finishing, I was feeling so much better and I was glad that I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t sure I would last through the Sun Salutations, but I finished strong, holding Sirsasana and Uth Pluthi for all of Sharath’s counts.

And now I’m all ready for the Moon Day tomorrow :-D

Astanga

Once a month, the Shala has a led Primary class followed by a discussion. Today was led class day. I’ve been looking forward to it all week!

I go through phases in my attitude towards led classes. Before I started practising regularly at the Shala, I really enjoyed them. But after a month of Mysore Style practice, I started dreading Sunday led classes (they used to happen every Sunday). Everything was so overwhelming to me at that point, I think the led classes were a ‘sensory overload’.

Then my teachers started offering them only once a month. This has worked out really well for me because I’ve come to look forward to them as a special ‘event’ and a break in routine. I can honestly say that I enjoyed every single minute of the led class this morning. It was so much fun!

R made sure that I got a Prasarita C adjustment and my hands made it to the floor! I didn’t have any help at all in Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana, which was a bonus because I had the opportunity to balance on my own. I didn’t botch it up too badly, but I’m perplexed about one thing: it seems impossible to gaze over my opposite shoulder on the first side of the ‘B variation’ (without falling over) but I’m fine doing it on the second side. Weird!

Recently, Navasana has become much easier. I no longer struggle in the pose; It feels comfortable. I’m guessing that this new ease is due to a combination of leg strength and bandhas. It was nice to feel confident in the pose today, though I was feeling tired by the fifth repetition of it.

Backends felt stiff and uncomfortable. On the third Urdhva Dhanurasana, R came over and pushed my arms inward (I’m guessing they weren’t straight). My shoulders probably tightened up over the Saturday break.

Led finishing is the BEST! I was in a Happy Headstand Blissout state for hours after I left the shala. :-)

I baked vegan Blueberry Walnut Muffins to share during the discussion afterward. Fresh blueberries! Look how pretty:

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Second Practice:

I wasn’t even sure I would get around to doing it today, but I made some time after I walked the dog. I kept it short: 30 minutes, same stuff I always do.

I’m raising the bar this week. I can drop back, now I want to stand up! I was thinking about it a lot yesterday. How can I get my brain and body to co-operate with one another? I developed a theory: if it’s easier to drop back with a wider stance (because of my looooong legs), it might be easier to stand up with a wider stance.

Sounds plausible, doesn’t it? I tried it today. No dice. After my second dropback and unsuccessful rocking ‘up’, I collapsed into laughter. It’s FUNNY! Because it feels so IMPOSSIBLE! Standing up from a backbend feels about as ‘doable’ as standing on the ceiling.

But I’ll keep trying this approach because I think I’m more likely to stand up from a dropback (rather than Urdhva Dhanurasana, coming up from the floor). I’m doing all the right things in my dropbacks that *should* be ‘transferable skills’ to standing: strong legs, rooting through the feet, a good arch in my back.

When I was in grade six, our teacher used to let us watch films backwards. We thought it was hilarious! This is exactly what I need to do: Dropbacks, backwards!

At least dropbacks are not a drama anymore. Today, I was fearless! I need to move my feet closer together though. That’s another project for this week.

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Ursula summed it up better than I ever could: “Jois will become a brand***www.joisyoga.com***”

I didn’t write about this yesterday because I needed a chance to calm down, think about it and also hear from my teachers. My initial reaction to this announcement was distaste and deep sadness.

I find it incredibly disturbing that Guruji's name and image is being turned into a 'brand'. I don't think Guruji dedicated his life to teaching this practice in order to create an ‘apparel collection’. During his lifetime of teaching, his single goal was to share the healing powers of this practice with as many people as he could. He expanded his shala to accommodate more students - not to make the quick buck. He risked losing students in order to teach lepers. I’m almost certain ‘Jois Yoga’ is not a 'legacy' he would have appreciated.

When I asked my teachers for their thoughts this morning, they didn't seem very concerned about the project or its impact on the practice itself. They said: “This is separate from the practice”. As I moved through the Primary Series, I felt reassured. It’s just as powerful and meaningful to me now as it was before I learned of these changes. Nothing has really ‘changed’. per se.

In his last years, Guruji work tirelessly to bring Astanga to the west, emphasizing the practice itself as the core value of the Astanga system; ’99% practice’. It has a strong foundation because it was built on people! There’s a HUGE community of teachers and practitioners out there who are passionate about traditional Astanga and have experienced the benefits of the practice.

What we bring to the mat every day as a community is the *real* legacy of Guruji and ultimately, I think it’s bigger and more powerful than any amount of marketing hype, ‘boutique shalas’ or $100 yoga pants.

I’m also guessing we’re not such an ‘easy sell’.

I’ve said it before: Traditional Ashtangis are a quirky lot. The practice seems to lend itself towards a certain level of simplicity and minimalism in daily routines and diet. It makes us a tricky ‘marketing demographic’ to pin down. We buy clothes that are durable and adaptable to the practice. We pick our teachers carefully and loyally follow them for years. Relationships and community are as important as the practice itself - they’re *part* of the practice.

I didn’t pick my shala based on a ‘dynamic shopping experience’ and I don’t choose my practice clothing because it expresses ‘the joy that is Jois’ (Oh, *cringe*!!!!). I’m pretty sure I’m not going to find ‘physical, mental and spiritual happiness’ by purchasing a piece of clothing at a ‘shala boutique’ just because it has the name ‘Jois’ stitched on the label.

Astanga is my spiritual practice, it’s not a 'lifestyle'. If there’s one positive outcome from all of this, perhaps it’s the opportunity to connect with the deeper reasons that we do the practice, the tangible benefits it brings us and the importance and power of the community that supports it.

And to put it bluntly, I hope this whole ‘Jois Yoga’ thing falls flat and fades away into failure because frankly, it pisses me off.

Astanga

And another yoga week begins! I always place The Duke right next to my front door on Sundays, to make sure I don’t arrive at the Shala mat-less (I bring my mat home every Friday to give it a deep cleaning in the bathtub).

It occurred to me recently that I’ve been practising on this black Manduka for just over two years. It’s still in great shape - no holes or discernible wear, though you can definitely see the spot where I ‘jumpback’. R was telling me that the mats have a lifetime guarantee.

I was skeptical, “Even if I wear holes in it?” and she nodded.

That’s good to know!

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Today was the monthly led Primary and it was a particularly good one! I had a great practice! The temperature of the room was perfect today, and though the room was full, it wasn’t *too* crowded.

I’m finding that I’m MUCH stronger in my practice these days which makes the led class so much easier. The endless Navasanas don’t seem as difficult. And the vinaysas flow more smoothly. I’m really feeling strong in lift-ups. In one instance, P asked us to lift up, then got distracted. I counted at least five breaths before he realised we were in limbo and gave us the Chatvari-jump-back. I just stayed in my lift-up for the duration, waiting. I wouldn’t have been able to do this a month ago!

Today, I made an effort to follow the vinyasa counts very precisely and I noticed some transitions that had previously eluded me. For example, there’s no pause between Marichyasana C and the lift-up to jump back - it happens very quickly. Same with Mari D. In the finishing poses, I was able to ‘keep up’ with the count for the very first time, right through to Sirsasana - I inhaled my legs up and stayed there for the count, then halfbend, then down. I know it sounds like a small thing, but I think this is the first time I’ve *ever* been able to do that.

Since half my practice has been blown to smithereens by this hamstring injury, I’m taking the small victories where I can find them!

My hamstring was very tight today. I continue to shy away from any sensation, per R’s direction. The hammie didn’t really bother me until the very last, post-backbend Pachimottanasana. I bent my knees a little and tried to stay in the forward fold, but I just couldn’t bear it. So I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged my legs. R saw me doing this and said something about ’crying’ but I wasn’t having a meltdown at all. Though I’m pretty sure THAT pose isn’t in the Primary Series!!! ;-)

During the halfbend in Sirsasana, I actually had to bend my left leg a bit because it was too uncomfortable for my hamstring. I’m sure it looked pretty weird, but at least I held the halfbend! Again, not really a pose, but I’m doing what I can.

I brought muffins to share during the discussion afterward and everyone loved them! It’s really cool how yummy food can create a festive atmosphere!

The discussion was really interesting! I love asking questions about the evolution of the practice and Guruji’s approach as a teacher. I just finished re-reading Yoga Mala, so I asked about some of the omissions/additions to the Primary Series. The response was interesting, and led to other questions about the Yoga Karunta, the origins of Iyengar style and how Astanga has changed over the years. Since I’m re-reading Mark Singleton’s book ‘Yoga Body’, I was very interested in hearing my teachers’ take on some of this stuff.

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It’s been a while since I documented some of the interesting searches from my access statistics. Here’s a run down of the best ones - they’ve been amusing lately!

arnica hamstring: For some reason, it tickles my funny bone that I’m the poster child for arnica and hamstrings.

astanga ribs: Ragdoll! Someone is looking for you!

astanga difficult / astanga too hard / astangi having difficulty / astanga makes me cry / I hate astanga: This is but a small sampling of the whiny searches I’ve been getting lately. I don’t complain THAT much, do I?

astanga makes me sleepy: I’m jealous. Astanga keeps *me* awake!

chaturanga toe: Is this related to Blackberry Thumb?

lost ability to stand up from backbend: NOOOOOOO! Please don’t tell me that after all of the work I’m doing to learn this stupid thing, it could just evaporate on me! I was hoping that it’s like ‘riding a bicycle’, a skill for life.

And here are two bonus, non-Astanga searches:

anusara without the crap: *snort* Now THAT would be something!

bindu wiles and trickery: That sneaky Bindu Wiles! What’s she up to now...?

Astanga

Today was a led class and it was a hot one! Hot and humid. My entire space was soaked in sweat by the end: my clothes, my rug, my towel, my hair. I think my brain was even a little sweaty!

Led Primary is a funny little time warp. While I’m doing it, it seems to take forever. Afterward, it seems like no time has passed at all! A few hours later, I wonder if I imagined the whole thing!

My gremlin left me alone for most of the practice. She’s settled back into my left shoulderblade during the day, but during practice today, she was lingering around the base of my neck. This is good! The base of the neck is an exit point - it means she might be leaving soon.

I’ve been trying to be more mindful of the positioning of my neck during my practice. R stopped by once or twice this morning to change the position of my head, so she’s keeping an eye on this as well. The coming week should be interesting. The gremlin has been lingering longer than I would have predicted.

I did two Chakrasana today and skipped the others because they were too uncomfortable. Sarvangasana is back in full, along with Karna Pidasana and Pindasana. Sirsasana was fine going up. I even held for the 15 counts, but I couldn’t manage the half-bend. Instead, I placed my tippy toes on the floor and held there. Sirsasana is the one pose I can *always* do well, so this has been humbling for me!

I brought vegan double-chocolate brownies to share with my shala-mates during the discussion afterward. I’ve been experimenting with a new recipe and it turned out great! I forgot to take a photo of them, so you’ll just have to imagine: Very moist, gooey brownies with melted vegan chocolate chips. Very chocolately! Yum!

Astanga

Sundays used to be lazy lazy, but not so much these days. This morning, I slept in a bit and woke in a panic at 8:10. Technically, I’m supposed to leave for led Primary by 8:30 on Sundays. I raced around and made it to the Shala with 5 minutes to spare.

When I walked in, Teacher R took one look at me and said: “Wow, did you get your hair cut?” I was very, very tempted to say something like: “No, I just blow-dried it this morning” or something equally snarky, but I was too sleepy to conjure any enthusiasm for sarcastic humour. It *is* really, really short. I finally measured it and it’s less than an inch. Except on top, near the front it’s longer. It’s very tidy though. There was no Orangutan Hair after today’s practice!

We had a full house for the led Primary and it was HOT in the room. I was sweating buckets! I had a good practice and enjoyed it. I never expect adjustments during a led practice, so I was delighted with each one I received. I was particularly grateful to get a post Urdhva Dhanurasana squish. I work so hard on those backbends, the squish is a special reward for me.

Each week, I set an intention for my practice; something I want to focus on and work hard at. Last week, I was working on a consistent Driste. This week, it’s lift-ups. My goal for the week is to always, always lift up. Even when I’m tired. Even between repetitions of NAVASANA. *tortured wail of despair*

Seriously, I’m *this* close to jumping back without the toe-cheat. I did it once last week! I’m strong enough to do it, I just need to get the knack. I’ve been combing YouTube for video inspiration. I want to be light and floaty too!

Bandhas, Bandhas, Bandhas!

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The Internet Asks: Interesting Searches in My Access Stats

I haven’t checked my site stats in awhile. I’m always amazed by how many people visit my blog. The search terms are pretty funny this week. Here are a few (search terms in bold, my response below)

i hate ashtanga
I used to hate Ashtanga too. That’s what brought me to the practice: my aversion to it. I wondered if this aversion might have something to teach me. I found that the more I did Ashtanga, the more it grew on me. I have learned a LOT and I’m still learning.

backbend heart open tired
This is *exactly* how I feel after 5 Urdhva Dhanurasana in the morning. Add “and I wish I didn’t have to do Chakrasana now” and that would totally sum it up!

1 percent practice 99 percent theory
It’s called graduate school. Frankly, I prefer Ashtanga! ;-)

Astanga

When I go out on a Saturday night, I try not to stay out *too* late and I usually don’t drink. But last night there was Champagne, so what’s a girl to do?! Carpe Par-TAY, of course! I had a great time! Between the bubbly and the night of wild dancing, I was a bit worse for the wear this morning. I had managed to squeeze in about 5 hours of sleep before heading to the Shala. Fortunately, it was a led Primary this morning and started later, at 9 (unfortunately, I had a long, long day ahead of me with a workshop in the afternoon)

I had no idea what to expect from my practice, given my lack of sleep, but it was fine. In fact, I really enjoyed it. The Shala was less crowded than I expected, so we had space to spread out. I rolled every Chakrasana, but skipped the post Urdhva Dhanurasana roll. And my neck is a tiny bit sore. This is obviously a learning process for me. As I child, I never liked to turn somersaults very much!

Today’s led Primary felt easier than the one a couple of weeks ago. I think the room was cooler, which helped me keep a clearer head during the practice. I had better balance during Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana today, despite no assistance. Teacher P had to corral my Turtle, helped me bind in Supta K.

The discussion afterward was really interesting. A few days ago, I was trying to describe Astanga to a friend and I came up with the analogy of Martial Arts to convey the culture of daily practice and building a relationship with a teacher. I was surprised when Teacher R brought up this same analogy in the discussion. I think it’s very apt. I asked a question that had been nagging me about backbending and Kundalini and clearing space in the Sushumna. In retrospect, I think what I was *really* asking is this: “Why am I doing this?” To their credit, the teachers mainly addressed the heart of the question.

The discussion that emerged gave me some food for thought, mainly along the lines of trusting the process and trusting your teachers and just *doing* the practice. The idea of ‘beginners mind’ came up, being open to the practice and what it can teach us. I came home to a post Christine had written on Yoga Sutra 1.32. She observed: “At this point in my journey through the Yoga Sutras, I'm starting to wonder if the whole book couldn't be summed up by Pattabhi Jois when he said "Practice and all is coming." Patanjali's main theme thus far seems to be: Choose a practice. Keep practicing.”

It felt like my entire day has followed this theme: We keep practising and it’s the practice itself that becomes the POINT. Not the Kundalini or the emerging Siddhis (yogic super-powers) or the Yoga Butt or the Man Arms (*waves at Liz*) or the next pose in the series or Standing up from Urdhva Dhanurasana.

I spent my entire afternoon chewing on that very last item, because that’s what the workshop was about. I came home from the workshop absolutely FRIED and I’m still exhausted. My legs are like jello and I’m so exhausted, I feel numb.

Workshop report tomorrow. Now: bed.

Astanga, Workshop

More Kino notes and observations about the weekend...

Led Primary

Kino’s led Primary was scheduled for 7 a.m., well before the subway runs in my city. My options were: biking, cabbing, or walking. Up until the time I went to bed, I hadn’t made a decision about transportation. Predictably, I dreamt about it all night! *eyeroll*

As luck would have it, I woke early enough that walking was a viable option. I arrived at the school (all of the sessions were held at a private school, midtown) 15 minutes early and set up near the back row (in an effort to be as invisible as possible).

The led class started just after 7 a.m. and it ran for...(wait for it!)...2.5 hours. No joke! (a led Primary typically lasts anywhere from 1 hour, 10 minutes to 1.5 hours) So, where did this time go? Mostly to the long, looooonnnnng holds. Some of the holds were so long that I wondered if Kino was still there (Was she napping? texting? getting a coffee?), then another minute would go by and I would hear her say: “Four...” *groan*

And there were many, MANY backbends (the backbends went on and on...I sort of lost count, but I think there were 7 or 8). I wish I had the benefit of the fabulous backbending workshop I attended later so I could have enjoyed these more.

I rolled three of my Chakrasanas with no fuss, skipped the one after Urdhva Dhanurasana(s) because I was SPENT. I was binding everything I usually bind, even Supta Kurmasana. This was surprising because I certainly wasn’t very hot. I took off my headband at the end of the standing poses because I wasn’t sweating at all.

The temperature turned out to be a huge issue for me (and not something that Kino could have controlled). This room felt *cold*. During one of my vinyasas, I abandoned my Driste and glanced back at the dude behind me - he was all shiny with sweat. Me? I was blowing on my feet in Baddha Konasana B trying to keep them warm.

By the time the finishing poses started (right around the time my teachers were beginning their led Primary back at the warm, warm Shala), I was chilled to the bone. I’m not sure why I was so chilly. I’m hesitant to speculate, though I do wonder if the pace of the class was just slower than what I’m used to. And yes, that Uth Plutihi lasted *forever*

I did get a fabulous adjustment, the Famous Kino Downward Dog Squish. It was great! :-) The best part about it was, after she gave me a final push and wandered off to the next person, I remained totally grounded in my feet.

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Backbending Workshop

The backbending workshop was FULL OF AWESOME! If you ever get a chance to go to this in person, DO IT!

I’m not a big fan of Purvottanasana, but by applying the instruction I learned in the workshop, the pose has transformed into a place of bliss for me. Seriously, if I had learned *nothing* else, this would have been worth the price of admission! Purvottanasana has been my nemesis for years and now? I LOVE IT!

This love didn’t quite translate for Urdhva Dhanurasana but I’ll concede that it feels at least 50% easier to me now. It’s as if I took a little ‘strength pill’ or something. It’s all in the technique and building strength (Kino insists: “There is no pixie dust”).

I dubbed Kino’s opening dialogues the ‘Kino Keynotes’. At the beginning of her workshops, she opens with chanting, then gives a little talk. She does this while standing in front of the room, balanced on one leg in a quasi Vriksasana (‘Tree Pose’). She waves her hands around enthusiastically as she speaks, never wavering or losing her balance. After about 7 minutes, she switches legs and continues. Hilarious!

I took lots of notes during the Backbending Keynote (I’m the ‘remedial backbending’ student of my shala, so I need all the help I can get). I also made two short video clips which I’ll post later on in the week.

From the opening remarks:

- Backbending allows us to gain control of the spine. By controlling the spine, we can begin to control the nervous system. The deeper purpose of backbending is to awaken the Kundalini and offer a open channel for that energy to move up the spine.
- Joints can be either open or compressed (stabilized). In backbending, we’re dealing with many, many joints - the vertebrae of the spine and we need to open them, create space.
- Pain: allows us to feel, to move out of compression

The entire body is involved in backbending, not just a specific part, say...the lumbar spine *ahem*. The entire body needs to be awakened! If you focus the bend into just one spot, injuries will occur)
*Every joint needs to have spaciousness
* The legs are the foundation of the spine (read: strength, engagement)
* Lift the lower spine up UP and OUT of the pelvis

(hmmm...where have we heard THAT before? I think it was yesterday: “Our whole body is a network. There is a synergistic effect; the whole body *must* participate”)

Some effects of backbending practice:
- heat
- nausea
- shaking
- insomnia

I can vouch for the first two. I spent much of the workshop sweating bullets and wondering if I was going to hurl.

A few anatomical notes:

-The spine starts at the tailbone. The sacrum is like a keystone, takes the weight of the column of the legs.
-Turning the feet out compresses the sacrum, but when you’re first learning, it may be preferable to turn the feet out a tiny bit, especially if your knees tend to splay out otherwise.
- In order to backbend, we need to open the hip flexors, the psoas muscle needs to lengthen. The psoas starts in the inner upper leg, runs through the pelvis and attaches to the spine. Kino believes that the reason that Guruji specified grabbing the waist in many poses is because that is where the psoas attaches; it’s a point of stability.
-During a backbend, two things can potentially happen to the organs: they can either drop onto the spine like dead weight, putting pressure on the vertebrae OR the abdominal muscles are drawn in (Uddiyana Bandha) so the organs shift down into the pelvis. The latter is preferable!

This last point is important - Kino emphasized it again and again. Kino mentioned a circumstance in which someone was x-rayed doing a backbend and in the x-ray, her organs were shifted toward the pelvis!

Setting up the structure for backbends:

Come onto your knees, then step one foot forward (toes of the back foot are tucked under), like a lunge.

1) Inhale, press down actively through the legs
2) Exhale, tuck the tailbone
3) Inhale, lift and expand the ribs (you can bring your hands on the lower ribs and try to ‘lift’ them up)
4) Exhale, draw in the stomach, engage Uddiayana Bandha

Scoot the front foot forward a bit, but keep the tailbone tucked. Find the stretch in the hip crease of the back leg. Eventually, lift the back knee off the ground, again keeping the tailbone tucked (which will further lengthen the hip flexors).

Once this foundation was established, the hands are brought to prayer position at heart centre, then lifted to the face/forehead, then pointed back over the head, eventually straightening the arms.

Other examples:

For the other exercises and backbends, this structure (the numbered list above) was applied. There was an emphasis on activating the legs first, then working your way up through the body, integrating the body before backbending.

We repeated these steps in:
- Sukhasana (simple cross-legged seated pose)
-Sphinx (Inward rotation of the thighs helps to prevent contraction of the gluteus maximus)
-Ustrasana (Camel pose)
-Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog pose)
-Laghu Vajrasana (I can actually do this pose! Who knew?!!!)

Purvottanasana:

Kino’s approach to my nemesis, Purvottanasana, is so revolutionary, that I wanted to document the steps here, as they specifically applied to this pose. My history with this pose has been VERY negative. I hate it and it makes me feel full-body AWFUL. Applying these steps, I enjoyed the pose for the first time in my life. It was spectacular!

1) Come into Dandasana. Strongly engage your legs, pressing the inner big toe mound edges together and the heels together.
2) Tuck the tailbone and allow that action to begin the lift in the hips
3) Inhale to expand and lift the lower ribs, Exhale to draw in the stomach (Uddiyana)
4) Keep tucking the tailbone and lifting the hips
5) Expand through the chest while drawing the shoulder blades down the back
6) Keep the tailbone tucked, the legs engaged!

Magic!!!

Urdhva Dhanurasana:

The final frontier! Following these steps, I was able to come into a backbend which didn’t leave me gasping for breath or praying for mercy. It didn’t feel like kittens, cake and colourful balloons, but I didn’t want to die either. That’s progress!

1) Press your heels into the floor and root down through your big toe mounds. Activate the legs!
2) Tuck the tailbone and allow that action to begin the lift in the hips
3) Inhale to expand and lift the lower ribs, Exhale to draw in the stomach (Uddiyana)
4) Inhale, expand the chest, keep tucking the tailbone and lifting the hips
5) Place the hands near the ears, fingers spread and ‘clawing’ the mat, then engage the legs to come on to the head
6) Straighten the arms, actively move the shoulder blades down the back

(video coming soon!)

Funny moment:

During the closing questions, a guy asked Kino something about Hanumasana. Turns out, he wanted to know how to come into a backbend in that pose.

Kino was perplexed at first, then she said with astonishment: “You mean, you want to do Kroukachasana B? That’s the second pose of the FIFTH series!” She chuckled and said: “First, learn the Primary Series!” and everyone laughed.

Astanga

I couldn’t have picked a better day to field-test my Halo headband. The Shala was a stifling vortex of sweaty misery this morning and it’s not even close to summer yet. It wasn’t bad when I first sat down, but as soon as we got going, things heated up quickly.

The heaters were quickly turned off and at one point, a window was opened (I was one of the fortunate few to be adjacent to that window...ahhhh!). I was sweating so profusely, I didn’t need to spray my arms and legs for Garba Pindasana and when I rolled up into Kukutasana, my body slid down my arms no matter how much I engaged the lift through my Bandhas.

The Halo headband worked! It did keep the sweat from running into my eyes - anything that rolled off my head and down my forehead was diverted to the sides. But as soon as I turned my head upside down - for example, in the Prasaritas - the diverted streams of sweat flowed into my eyes.

I suppose what I need is *another* Halo headband to wear around my neck! My willingness to look dorky for the sake of my practice has some boundaries, though: since I’m not willing to wear a Halo headband around my neck like a collar, I’ll just have to deal with the sweat when I’m inverted!

After adjusting to a Mysore-style practice, it was interesting to go back to a led class. I found it challenging to keep my mind focused. There was so much going on around me - noises, people packed into a small space (it really wasn’t all that crowded), teachers moving around the room making adjustments, sweat! I struggled to focus on the count. I couldn’t allow myself to get into too much of a rhythm because Teacher P likes to occasionally keep us in a holding pattern in Chaturanga (I got nailed for moving into to Udhva Mukha Svanasana too soon).

It felt like it went on and on and on. It was hard.

I did notice that I was coming into poses more easily this time around. I bound all my Marichyasana poses fully and I even got chest and chin to the floor by myself in Baddha Konasana. The led class is a good place to gauge how far along you are in your practice without the teacher’s help (my Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana needs some work).

After class, there was a half-hour discussion, which mostly revolved around the Yoga Sutras and Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Now that I have a place to bring my questions, I’ll have to dive into my study of the Sutras again. This is a good month to do it!

My Easter/Eastre basket this year:


I don’t really celebrate the holiday, but I do like the chocolate! The cookies are from one of my students (poor bunny’s ears were broken in transit). I managed to score some Peeps this year too! They’re sometimes hard to find here. I love them, but really I just love the sugar. :-D

Astanga

Hm...*that* was interesting. And a tiny bit intimidating too.

I was thinking about it and I'm pretty sure this was the first time I've ever attended a proper Astanga Yoga class. I went to at least one 'Astanga-style Vinyasa' class with Teacher M, but it was 8 years ago, before YTT. In fact, I think it was part of the entrance requirement for YTT! We had to attend a class with each of the YTT teachers so they could evaluate us. I thought: “How hard can a Level II Astanga class be?” And proceeded to get my ass whupped. Teacher M came up to me, after I had scraped myself off the floor, and said “I think you'll be fine in YTT.” Yeep!

First challenge was finding Shala Central. The Shala has moved around town a fair bit over the years. Because they only teach morning Mysore classes, they rent space from an existing studio. For a short time, they were even located in a studio I was teaching at (before it went out of business). Now they're at a small studio space in a funky, bohemian market area. I locked my bike and headed upstairs. I was 20 minutes early.

First impressions: It's a SMALL room, warm, lots of windows. There were 12 people at this led Primary and I'm pretty sure I was the only 'alien' in the room; everyone else was a regular Mysore student. The room was kept toasty throughout the practice. I was sweating *buckets*. It was cozy, but not overly croweded. We had to do a bit of body-rearranging for some poses.

Teacher R greeted me at the door (I had emailed in advance). I offered a nutshell version of my yoga history: 14 years of practice, 2 of those Astanga. And then came the question I was bracing myself for:

'Where do you practice?'

'Home practice? How did you learn Astanga?'

'From books and DVDs?' *raised eyebrows*

I don't think she really knew quite what to make of me. She and Teacher P certainly kept an eagle on me during the practice. They were never mean-spirited or obvious about it, but I was, after all, a stranger in their shala. It makes sense that they would carefully evaluate my practice.

After standing, though, I sensed a subtle shift in attitude and by the time we did closing poses, Teacher P was quietly making suggestions for me to deepen my poses (I was being rather conservative in my practice since I was in a new space and unaccustomed to the room temperature). He called me by name in a comfortable way. I felt welcome.

Their feedback was *awesome*

- My stance in Utthita Trikonasana is too wide
- My stance in Virabhadrasana I is not wide enough ;-)
- I should take my palm all the way to the floor in Parsvakonasana (I tend to stay on my fingertips)
- My foot is much too close my inner thigh in Marichyasana A. There should be a space of at least 10 centimetres between foot and thigh.
- I need to bring my hands slightly forward into a steeper angle in Uttana Padasana
- In Sirsasana half-bend, my feet are a bit too close to the floor; I can raise them a bit
- Pointed toes everywhere! In Navasana and Halasana (which I knew about) but also Sarvangasana, Sirsasana and Urdhva Mukha Paschimottanasana (which is pronounced 'PaschiMAttanasana'

And I got some good 'squishes'. I love me a good squish! ;-)

I wisely skipped Setu Bandhasana and observed the other students doing this pose. There were many variations in the room, I asked about these during the question/answer session afterward. I got some good tips for moving into this pose slowly (one variation, which looks like an Upward Table pose, looks doable for me). They shared some strategies for lowering the head in Bhujapindasana (without the faceplant!). The other students brought up questions about the vinyasa sequencing, which I'm fairly comfortable with already, thanks to Sharath's CD.

This session was very valuable to me in terms of feedback, a few small adjustments (Hey! My ankles can cross in Supta Kurmasana! And I stayed bound too!) and doing the Primary Series in a group setting. I really enjoyed it. I actually found it easier to focus on Ujjayi, Drishte and Bandhas with so much feedback (in sound, movement and energy) coming from all around me.

The biggest surprise (it always is) was Sirsasana. It was a non-event. I came into the pose. I held the pose. I did the half-bend. I came out of the pose. This one was my nemesis for years, so it still floors me every time I do it, particularly in a new situation and, in this case, very tight quarters (God help me if I fell! I didn't...).

As I rode home, the sky was dark with thunder clouds. I stopped at the burrito place briefly and by the time my meal was ready, it was pouring. I worried about this for half-a-second before realising, 'Hey! I'm already soaking wet from practice!' and rode home in the rain.